James Bairaktaris 9/30/21 James Bairaktaris 9/30/21

Westport Swim and Dive Team beats Fairfield Ludlowe

Highlights included a record breaking swim in the 50 meter freestyle by freshman Annam Olasewere. Olasewere broke the Staples HS record with a time of 26.48 as well as winning the 100 Meter freestyle in a time of 59.82.

Freshman twin sister Ayaan Olasewere won the 100 meter breaststroke (1:21:91) and placed second behind Ludlowe's Kathleen Murray in the 200 Meter IM (2:37.51).

Senior Captain Jessica QI won the 200 Meter freestyle in a time of 2:15.17 and took second in the 100 Meter freestyle with a time of 1:00.51

Staples took first, second and fourth in Diving behind the efforts of Kate Whitaker, Mia Guster and Ava DeDomenico

Staples senior captain Ella Alpert took first in the 100 meter backstroke (1:12.65) and finished second in the 100 meter butterfly (1:08.66)

Freshman Dani Schwartz took the 400 Meter freestyle with a state qualifying time of 5:01.20. Junior Ali Chodash (5:13.62) took second in that event behind Schwartz.

Staples dominated the freestyle relays winning the 200 free and 400 freestyle relays with times of 1:55.41 and 4:21.14 respectively.

Contributed by Susana De Pinho

James Bairaktaris 9/30/21 James Bairaktaris 9/30/21

Westport COVID-19 Cases Up 1; State Hospitalizations Continue to Decline, Positivity Rate 1.26%

The Westport-Weston Health District repo rt ed 1 new COVID-19 case for Westport since yesterday. The State’s daily test positivity rate was down to 1.28% while hospitalizations were down 16 in a continuing trend of COVID patients being released from Connecticut hospitals.

Westport total positive or probable cases: 2,066 cases.
Westport total COVID-19 Deaths: 32 deaths.
State Daily Test Positivity: 1.26% [down from 1.78%]
State Hospitalizations: 234 patients [-16]

J.C. Martin 9/30/21 J.C. Martin 9/30/21

Puttin' On The Dog In Greenwich

Adopt-A-Dog animal shelter based in Armonk, NY which celebrated their 40th year, held their annual Puttin' On The Dog event at Roger Sherman Park in Greenwich on Sunday. Visitors got to socialize along with their four-legged best friends, and enjoyed dog competitions and activities, vendors, a silent auction, food trucks and more.

WESTPORT'S own DOG FESTIVAL will return to Winslow Park in downtown Westport for the fifth time Sunday, October 10th. This very popular event attracted some 3,000 people when it was held in 2019 before being cancelled for 2020 due to COVID. This year will be bigger than ever, with 7 competitions including Best Kisser, Best Lap Dog, and a fan favorite, Dog That Looks Most Like Owner. The obstacle course returns showing doggie athleticism (or lack there of), along with several demonstrations such as Fidelco Guide Dogs, and the very popular Police K9 demos which will be held twice, presented by the Westport and other area Police Departments. This year, a local celebrity, "Piglet", a deaf, blind and pink dog who has more than 250,000 followers on Instagram and more than 169,000 on Facebook and is owned by Westport veterinarian Melissa Shapiro will be doing a meet-and-greet. Her book, "Piglet: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf, Blind and Pink Puppy” will be featured.